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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28727979">Black Sky Bounty</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kris675/pseuds/Kris675'>Kris675</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Blood, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Canon-Typical Violence, Childhood Trauma, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Strangers to Lovers, The Mandalorian (TV) Spoilers, Trauma, Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 12:02:06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,054</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28727979</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kris675/pseuds/Kris675</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Another mark, another tracking fob that led him to yet another dust bowl planet on the most remote edge of the galaxy. Though this target is another that seems to be more than the Mandalorian had bargained for.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Din Djarin/Original Female Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is supposed to take place after season 2.<br/>I apologize in advance for my inconsistent chapter lengths. Let me know what y'all think of the story!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Another mark, another tracking fob that led him to yet another dust bowl planet on the most remote edge of the galaxy. He didn't understand how people could possibly live here. Most of these uninhabitable wastelands started as mining operations that later formed settlements that grew to expand beyond until after the planet was mined to its core. He always hated places like this, they always meant trouble in one way or another.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not that he had much of a choice, though. It was business, after all. And it was what he did best.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This settlement, however, was bigger than most on the planet. The small mining operation had ended generations ago, and since then the people here have turned it into a rather prosperous city. All over were people of different species scurrying through the market areas. He made his way through the crowd, scanning the area for what he was looking for.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At the edge of the settlement was a building, a storefront that led out into a vast plane littered with ships of all kinds. It was guarded mostly by a fenced-in area, a small maintenance droid sitting just outside the store, welding back together what looked to be part of an engine. He paid no mind as the droid stopped what it was doing to watch him enter the store.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was empty inside, he'd think that it'd be busier here this time of the day, but no. He was the only one. The main room was a small one, nothing much inside but a counter to finalize sales. A door stood at the other side of the building across from him leading out to the shipyard. He strode right on through without hesitating.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As he exited out into the sunlit courtyard there was only one person there, standing with their back to him. From this angle he could see they were wearing a cloak that ended at the waist, the burlap hood pulled up to protect the wearer from the hot sun. Strapped to their waist was a belt of tools. Most likely this was the person who ran the place, as there was no one else around but them. He didn't say anything as he approached, but he could tell they knew he was here. They turned slowly, revealing the face of a woman.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a hint of recognition on her face. The subtle lift of her eyebrows, a twitch in her lip that let him know she recognized him for what he was: a Mandalorian. She hid it well, though, quickly returning to a deadpan expression as she sauntered over to him, her stride unwavering after the small slip up. Any other person wouldn't have noticed, but he did.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She called out to him in a language he didn't know. Her voice was deep and husky as she almost purred the unfamiliar language. She paused for a moment, waiting for his reply. Of course, there was none, only silence. Her lip twitched again, this time in a small frown as she spoke once more. Her voice raised an octave, tongue clicking in yet another unrecognizable language. After another pause she placed her hand on her hip, shaking her head letting out a huff.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Do you at least know basic?" The woman finally spoke out, sounding annoyed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn't respond to her outright, though the subtle motion of nodding his head let her know he understood. She nodded back, and he took the time to examine her features. Black hair, tied into dreadlocks, were all pushed to one side of her head, draping down her neck and into the hood. Her skin was dark with a subtle hint of red that matched the dunes of sand that surrounded this settlement. Her eyes were black and thin, lips thick and chapped from the drying heat. Sunspots and freckles painted nearly every inch of visible skin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A golden ring hung from the middle of her nose while another hugged around the center of her bottom lip. Underneath her eyes, covering the dark circles were lines of gold painted down to her cheekbones, glittering whenever the light was to hit them at the right angle. Her black skin complimented the golden accents, but the decorations seemed oddly out of place on a planet so desaturated and void of decoration. The only thing that seemed out of place on </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span> was a rough scar going down across her face, starting at her right eye and stretching in a thin line across her lips and down her chin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm assuming you're here for a ship?" The woman spoke, raising her arm to motion towards the yard full of restored ships of all kinds. As she did so, the cloak opened up only slightly, revealing a small blaster tied to her side. She lowered her arm again, her cloak falling back into place to hide the weapon. The motion was most likely on purpose.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I've got whatever you need, friend. Freighters, cruisers, speeders. All you gotta do is ask." She prompted a response from him, though the frustration showing on her furrowed brow told him that she knew she wasn't going to get one. Instead, he turned his head, his helmet scanning over the shipyard at what she had on display. True, she had plenty of ships, but none that really stood out to him. That was, until, in a near corner of the yard he saw a ship partially covered in a tarp, dangerously close to sliding off. It was a light freighter, though it was one that he didn't immediately recognize.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"That one's not for sale," The woman spoke as she walked up to his side. "That's my ship, and you don't want it, trust me. It's nothing special." She flicked her wrist, pointing in the other direction and trying to coax him to follow. "As I said, I've got whatever you need. Why don't we-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm not here for a ship."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Mandalorian's voice stops her in her tracks. "Then what are you here for?" She asked back indignantly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He raised his hand, revealing what he had hidden this entire time. A tracking fob was tucked into the palm of his glove, muffling the sounds of frantic beeping and keeping from view the red glowing light. Once again recognition washed over the woman's face, her thin eyes going wide.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I can bring you in warm. Or I can-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The woman lurched forward and kicked him, sending her boot rocketing into his chest so hard that he was flung onto his back. He coughed at the impact, trying to regain his bearing and lift himself back up despite the weight of the heavy beskar. The woman turned and ran, though, with precision aim, he fired his grappling line directly at her leg. It dug into the heel of her boot, catching her mid-stride and sending her face-first into the dirt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Using the grappling line as leverage, he pulled it forward, rising back up onto his feet as the woman was being pulled closer to him. She scrambled to get free, fingers digging into the ground as she desperately kicked at the grapple. The line broke, sending him stumbling forward before he was able to regain his footing. He grabbed his blaster, aiming it at the woman who still lie in front of him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In one fluid movement, the woman lifted herself up to her feet and shrugged off the cape she wore. Underneath the cloak she wore an armored vest with two blasters at her hip and a large knife on her back. One hand reached behind to grab the knife while the other readied her blaster. Though she did not fire. Instead, she flung the cape towards him, blocking his view of her. He swatted it away and in an instant she closed the gap between them, sending her elbow into his chest to make him stumble backward.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She thrust the knife towards him, aiming at the gap in his armor. He swatted the knife away, creating an opening to punch her hard in the chest. She fell back, but dropped the blaster from her hand and grabbed onto his shoulder. Using him as leverage she flung back at him, aiming her blade for his neck. He managed to grab her wrist before impact, holding her steady. She then brought her leg up into his side, kneeing him between the plated armor and sending a shockwave through his body. Her fist crashed down on top of his helmet, knocking him to the ground but also sending a shock through her arm that rattled her to her bones.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hunched over, he leaped forward, pouncing into the woman and sending them both to the ground. He tried to wrestle the knife out of her hand but her grip was like iron. She then forced her knees upward, pushing his body off of her and creating a fraction of space between them. She took the opportunity to swing her legs up and wrap them around his arm. Using the same momentum, the woman was able to use her body to lift him up and throw him back onto the ground.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was again on his back, and she descended upon him, stabbing the knife down into his shoulder. He screamed in pain, and in return, he pressed the button on his glove to shoot a jet of fire at her. She was barely able to escape the flames as she rolled off of his body. She ran, ducking behind one of the nearby ships and shielding her from the flames.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His shoulder screamed as he lifted himself to his feet. He grits his teeth through the searing pain as he pulled the blade from his shoulder and threw it at the ground. A blaster shot rang out as it hit him in the chest plate, causing him to stumble again. The woman was shooting him from behind the ship she took cover behind. He let out another jet of fire to scare her back farther, and he took cover of his own.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The woman turned and pressed her back up against the ship, sweat running down her brow and into her eyes. She had to think quick, or else she'd be cornered by him. She looked over towards her ship that sat just across the way. The ramp was open, she'd be able to make a run for it. Knowing it wouldn't close in time before he followed her, she knew she had to time this perfectly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pressing a button on her gauntlet, the ramp to her ship started to close. The sound of the ship pulled the Mandalorian's attention from her for a split second, which she used to get a running start. As she did, she fired in his direction, trying not to get hit as he returned it. The ramp was lifting now high into the air, she only had so much time left. Instead of shooting, she focused on sprinting forward at full speed. She lept, high up into the air as she reached for the edge of the platform, to pull herself up and into safety.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her body was violently jerked back as once again, his grapple wrapped around her leg. She fell hard onto the ground, her nose cracking under the weight of impact. She was dazed, unable to move as he ran towards her. Not wasting a second, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her up off the ground. He shackled them together in front of her body, securing them tightly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Upon realizing what he had done, she panicked and lurched forward, trying to hit him with her closed fists. He reeled back and hit a button on his wrist, and instantly the woman was pulled backward by an invisible force. Her arms were dragged up and the handcuffs hit hard against the side of the ship, locking her in place. They must have been magnetic, and strong ones at that, as she tried pulling herself free to no avail.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Let me go, Mando." The woman said, letting her body sink down to the ground as her arms were still painfully stuck above her head. The blood dripped from her nose and into her mouth. She spits it out into the dirt at his feet. "I promise you, whatever they're paying you isn't </span>
  <em>
    <span>nearly</span>
  </em>
  <span> enough after the hell I'm going to put you through..."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was tired of hearing her voice. Approaching slowly, his body beginning to sag under fatigue, he reached out to grab her by the shackles only to be met with another boot to the chest. This one hurt, the blow ringing out through his armor and his body. She kicked at him again nearly missing as he took a step back. She wasn't going down without a fight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She yelled, kicking her legs at him again to fend him off, to keep him away from her. Fed up with her tantrum, he reached behind and pulled out his staff, the beskar shining in the sun. She watched him with wide eyes as he spun it around in his hand, walking towards her. She readied herself, bending her knees. He didn't wait for her, though. He swung the spear down into her kneecaps, causing her to scream out in pain. Then he brought the spear down again onto her head, knocking her out cold.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Ver-Kera Thorn.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She had been on the run for the last 10 years, presumed dead by the guild for ages now. Even though all the other bounty hunters had given up on her, he never threw away a puck. She looked different; a decade would do that to you. But, he was able to recognize her all the same thanks to that tracking fob. It had been quiet for so long, tucked away into a bag carried on his belt, left forgotten. He was honestly surprised when he heard it go off as he neared the sector she was in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn't until hours later that she began to wake. Ver-Kera's eyes slowly opened, the throbbing in her head only causing her double vision to get worse. She blinked hard, trying to make sense of her surroundings. The pain in her head was overwhelming, resonating through her entire body.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Shit..." She spat out, still tasting blood on her tongue. Opening her eyes again, her vision started to clear up, and she was able to figure out exactly where she was. On her own ship. "That rat bastard..." She thought to herself. "Of all the ships you could have tried to steal and you went for mine." She didn't dare speak in case he was around to hear her, but her disdain for him was palpable.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ver-Kera tried to move, but doing so lit up every nerve of her body with white-hot pain. She really took a beating back there, though she hoped that she gave just as good as she got. Trying to move her arms, she realized that her hands were still cuffed together. They were stuck to the wall above her head to keep her from getting away. Her legs were splayed out on the floor, knees still hurting badly, but she could move them still.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He must have hit her hard because the ringing in her ears had not let up at all. "Alright, think, Vee. There must be some way out of this..." Ver-Kera tugged at the handcuffs, unable to even make them budge. They were strong. Wanting to test how strong they really were, she braced her feet down onto the floor and pulled at the cuffs as hard as she possibly could. White-hot pain surged through her veins as she tried to break free, but there was nothing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She slumped to the floor in defeat, the ringing in her ears growing louder as she squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the pain to cease. Her heart was hammering in her chest now and she wanted so badly for this all to just be some bad dream. She had worked so damn hard for so long to keep from getting caught. Perhaps that was exactly the reason why she was caught, she had grown too comfortable with the thought she had gotten away a free woman. Though all good things must come to an end, she supposed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>From where she was sitting, Ver-Kera had a pretty decent view of the ship. She was facing the door to the docking ramp, and to her left, she had an angled view of the hallway leading to the cockpit. To her right, the door to the cargo bay was open. The Mandalorian must have been rummaging through there for supplies, as she knew she had shut the door previously.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As she turned back to look towards the cockpit, there was the Mandalorian standing right at her side. She let out a short scream in surprise; she hadn't heard him approach. How? Wearing all that heavy armor should have absolutely given him away-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That </span>
  <em>
    <span>bastard</span>
  </em>
  <span>...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He knelt down and rested on one of his knees in front of her. His movements were slow as to not cause any alarm and make her hostile again. He held out his hand to her, opening his palm to reveal two small pieces of tech that he had stolen from her. She gave him a hard look but didn't move as he brought both of his hands to the side of her head. Pushing her dreadlocks out of the way, he carefully inserted her hearing aid back into her ear, wrapping it around her outer ear with great care.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Had to make sure they weren't a communication device of any kind." He spoke once he knew she could hear him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"How kind." Ver-Kera's words were flat, but she was still seething. He placed his fingers on her chin to move her head to the side so he could get to her other ear. She didn't put up any resistance, as she had no choice. Once both hearing aids were in place, Ver-Kera finally heard the purring of the engines, realizing that they were no longer grounded. They were in space, though hopefully, they haven't gotten very far.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I presume you're taking me back to the guild?" She asked, eyes scanning over the small slit in his visor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yes."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She scoffed. "What a joke…"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I need to ask you some questions." His voice was low and commanding, leaving no room for argument.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"The hyperdrive isn't working, and half the doors on this ship are locked up tight. I need you to tell me how to get them open and fix the hyperdrive."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ver-Kera opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She wasn't sure if she wanted to laugh at him or spit in his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Are you serious right now-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"And if you don't," He continued. "I'll break more than just your nose."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This bounty hunter was really starting to piss her off. She started chewing on the ring pierced into her bottom lip, trying desperately to think of some way out of this mess. Her head still hurt far too much to think properly. No longer being able to look at him, she let her head loll to the side to rest on her arm. She thought hard, but her mind was scrambled from the blow earlier. It was becoming obvious that if she wanted out of this situation, she couldn't let him walk away from this alive...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Would you shut up for a fucking minute?" Ver-Kera spat back at him, literally, as specks of blood flew from her lips and onto his helmet. She shifted her weight, placing her feet flat down onto the floor with her knees at her chest. "I know I'm not gonna do you any good like this. Let's start by releasing me, shall we?" She nodded her head upwards to her wrists that were still shackled together and magnetized to the wall of her ship. He didn't move right away, waiting just a beat before pressing a button on his gauntlet. Her wrists fell from the wall and down onto her knees. They were still shackled together, but this gave her a little bit more freedom than she had previously.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The moment she was free, Ver-Kera lurched her body forward, shoving her shoulder into his chest to knock him back. She tried to run but she stumbled over her own heavy feet. She braced for impact against the floor but was instead lifted up into the air. He'd grabbed her, tossing her body over his shoulder, and held her tight around the waist.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He carried her, kicking and wriggling, but unmoving in his iron grip. Inside the cockpit, there were four chairs, three for the intended crew and one for a passenger towards the back of the room. He tossed her into the co-pilot's chair and reactivated the magnetic pull on the handcuffs. They were pulled down to the seat of the chair, awkwardly stuck between her legs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Now, if you're done having your little outbursts," He spoke as he sat down next to her and faced the console. "You're going to tell me what's wrong and walk me through how to fix it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shit. This wasn't going well at all. Slowly, a bead of sweat began to run down her back. She felt everything, her senses heightened as the pain still overwhelmed her body. She had to think fast or else she wasn't going to walk away from this situation. Still, though, her thoughts were scrambled and her mind was hazy. There had to be something. Something she could do, something she could say to help get her out of this mess-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What did you do to my hyperdrive?" Ver-Kera's voice rose slightly, a shaky breath leaving her throat as her eyes scanned over the control panel. He didn’t answer, but in response, he turned in his chair to face her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Continuing to look over the console, she scooted forward until her hands were stuck tight between her legs. "Everything here seems right.. The </span>
  <em>
    <span>hyperdrive</span>
  </em>
  <span> should be working, but it's not. What did you do to my ship?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I didn't </span>
  <em>
    <span>do</span>
  </em>
  <span> anything," He responded. "It just isn't working."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well, you must have, because it was working fine before you came along." Once again she began chewing on the ring at her bottom lip, thinking hard as her eyes darted left and right over the cockpit. "Hit the hyperdrive again, I want to see what it does." He begrudgingly obliged, undoing the motions he had previously taken, only to flip the same switches and hit the same buttons as before. Still, though, there was nothing, and the tension was palpable. The engine hadn't even stalled. No noise, no nothing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Son of a bitch..." Ver-Kera muttered. "There has to be something... Hey," She then kicked the side of her boot against the bounty hunter's leg, causing him to turn his helmet dangerously slow towards her. "Back where you had me pinned to the wall, there was a control panel full of wires and circuitry. Go open that up and make sure your magnets here didn't mess with anything."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn't get up right away, instead, watching her for a moment longer. Finally, he swung the chair around and stood, leaving the cockpit, and leaving her alone. She knew she didn't have much time. Taking the opportunity, she pulled both of her legs up to her chest, placing her feet down onto the chair, and then began lifting herself up. She stood up on the chair, body bent in half at the waist as her hands were still stuck to the seat. Lifting one of her legs, she brought herself up to stand on her hands and placed her foot flat onto the ceiling of the cockpit to steady herself. With her other foot, she flicked a couple of switches on the ceiling above her head, then bent her knee. Slowly she lowered her legs down into a crouching position as she held herself upside down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ver-Kera arched her back as she brought her feet down onto the floor. She was still shaking like a leaf but managed out of desperation. Ever so slowly she lowered herself, her hands were still on the chair, but she was able to get into a seated position on the floor of the cockpit. She stretched her body as long as she could make herself, reaching her legs up and underneath the control panel. The tip of her booth searched for something, scraping around on the metal until she found it. Quickly, she tapped her boot against the hidden button, hearing it click, and then retracted her body. Slowly she curled her legs back into herself and began swinging around again. Her legs came back up and over her head, curling back in on herself, and then settling down to straddle the chair once more.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The shift in gravity did absolutely nothing for her throbbing head, and she screwed her eyes shut from the pain as the ringing in her ears got louder. "No damage," His voice cut through the unpleasant fog that clouded her mind as he walked back into the room. "I need to get into the engine room, but the doors are locked. Tell me how to get in."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"That's not very nice of you, demanding things like that all the time," Ver-Kera spoke, her eyes still shut tight. She didn't need to see him to know he was pissed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Fine," The magnetic pull on the bracers had been released suddenly, surprising her when she fell forward. He caught her by the arm, yanking her quickly to her feet and leading her out of the cockpit. She tried to pull against him to free herself, but the concussion she suffered was making her weak and off-balance. As he led her through the ship she nearly fell over twice, prompting him to once again pick her up and toss her body over his shoulder so he could take her to where he wanted her to go.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>On the complete other end of the ship, there was a small room that contained the airlock. He tossed her into the room, letting her body crumple to the floor as she was still so weak from the fight. Shutting the door behind him, he left her alone. There wasn't much in here, aside from a few extra supplies she had stashed away here that she didn't really need. The room really was small, so much so that if she were to lay down on the floor she'd have to bend herself in half. She muttered curses to the walls, racking her brain for something, anything she could do. There had to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>something </span>
  </em>
  <span>here...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>~~~</span>
</p><p>
  <span>An hour later, he came back for her. When he opened the door, he saw her standing on a small crate, hands still bound together as she reached up into a hole in the ceiling where wires were sticking out. Ver-Kera had only just pried the panel off and began messing with the wires by then, so she wasn't able to get far with what she was trying to accomplish.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Mandalorian reached out for her, and she tried to shrink away from him, but there wasn't much room to escape. He grabbed onto her arm, pulling her out of the room with him. She almost stumbled to the ground as he dragged her along, but despite her shaky legs he wrapped another of his arms around her back and kept her upright. He led her through her own ship, through the cargo bay, past the galley, and her eyes went wide when she saw an open door. An open door she had previously locked closed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There were two rooms right next to each other that had been used as the crew's quarters until she gutted them out and repurposed them. Both of the doors were opened, but her eyes were fixated on only one of them, where he was leading her. She struggled harder, trying to pry herself from his tight grip on her forearm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Stop struggling," He ordered her, hauling her into the room. "You of all people should know that just makes this process harder." Once in the room, the lights automatically turned on around them, illuminating the shining metal structure that was the carbonite freezing chamber. Panic bubbled up from the pit of her stomach, making the hair on her arms stand on end. She couldn't go in there, she couldn't.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Wait, you can't-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I said, stop struggling." He pulled her hard, making her fall forward onto his chest. She looked up and realized she was standing directly in front of the chamber. Her blood went cold.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"There's a bomb on the ship!" </span>
  <span>Her words echoed through the small room, making him stop.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You can't freeze me," Ver-Kera said with a shaking voice. "There's a bomb on the ship, and if you freeze me, we're both dead."</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Twitter: KrisPS675<br/>Tumblr: River675</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>"What do you mean there's a bomb on the ship?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's a safety precaution I took years ago," Ver-Kera said, her body trembling as the Mandalorian held her arm tight. He was about to encase her in carbonite before she spoke up. "I'm carrying something extremely valuable on this ship, and it would be devastating if it were to get into the wrong hands. So, I hired someone to place a bomb on this ship for me. Not even I know where it is, so if I were captured, someone like you wouldn't be able to force me to deactivate it. It'll only go off if one of three things were to happen... The first is if someone were to steal my ship. If I were not on board and it were to leave the atmosphere, boom. The second is if I were to get killed. The moment my heart stops, boom." She paused when she felt his grip get tighter on her arm. "The third..." She nodded her head, motioning towards the machinery in front of them. "Is if I were to get encased in my own carbonite."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"How do I know you're telling the truth?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I can prove it," She said far too quickly. "There's a device implanted under my skin. It's there, on the back of my leg just under my knee. See for yourself, you should be able to feel it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His grip on her arm tightened, not wanting to let her make any sudden movements. He bent down and placed his hand on the back of her calf, feeling for the device she was talking about. Instead, his fingers pressed down on the unmistakable feeling of a prosthetic limb. The unyielding metal pressed back against his gloved fingers and he pulled his hand away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"The other leg," Ver-Kera spoke, her voice low. She kept her eyes forward, refusing to look down at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He paused again. Once more he reached his hand out, crossing over her body this time to touch her other leg. There he touched flesh, soft skin and hard muscle, and searched for what she was talking about. He traced his thumb along the crook of her leg until he felt a bump underneath her skin. It was small, something he might have missed if he wasn't told where to look for it, but it was there nonetheless.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"See?" Ver-Kera pulled her leg from him, taking a step forward and turning back to face him. His grip on her was still tight, and he stood up straight to look down at her. "I believe that leaves us at an impasse."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Suppose so." He replied. Her eyebrows raised in slight surprise at his answer, but she tried to hide it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You still have a chance to turn back, Mando. I really don't think my bounty is worth all this trouble." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn't respond, only stood there, staring her down. She was beginning to get nervous, sweat forming on her brow. Her heartbeat was loud in her ears. She wanted to scream at him, to run away, to order him to turn her ship around. But her mouth was dry, and her feet were like lead stuck to the floor. She didn't know exactly what he was capable of and she didn't want to find out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Come on, take us back to-" Her words were cut off when he stabbed her. She jerked her body away from him and he let go of her arm. She fell back onto the floor, her hands held up defensively in front of her face. She saw him standing there, a small syringe in his hand. He stabbed her in the shoulder with... Something.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What did you do?" She demanded, kicking her legs on the floor to push herself away from him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Just a weak tranquilizer," He said, pocketing the rest of the partially-full syringe. "That should keep you on your best behavior for now."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She grit her teeth, spitting curses at him in a language he didn't know. It wasn't long before her speech started to get slurred. Her vision began to double and she tried blinking rapidly to make the two Mandalorians before her become one again. There was no use in fighting it. her body became weak and she dropped her head to the floor, a heavy thud ringing out into the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once she was asleep, he walked over and picked her limp body up into his arms. He was careful with her as he carried her out of the room. Walking back across the ship, he took her to the room just before the cockpit. There was a small area set up for the ship's navigator, a display screen on the wall that showed the majority of the quadrant they were in. He placed her down into the chair and uncuffed her hands for just a moment before re-securing them behind her back. He pulled another set of cuffs out and knelt down onto the ground before her. He secured her ankles together to fully make sure she wasn't able to escape. Now he knew exactly why she kicked so hard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She would remain asleep for a while, so he returned to the cockpit to continue to pilot the ship. Mando was right back to where he started, cruising along the galaxy with no hyperdrive, but now painfully aware that this ship was rigged to blow at the slightest movement. He charted a course for the nearest planet, intending to secure another ship. It was a shame, though, as this one had everything he could have wanted as a bounty hunter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando realized why he didn't recognize this ship at first. It was a YT-2400 Light Freighter, a newer model on a limited run. There were barely any of them floating around in the galaxy, and the one they were in was so heavily modified it was almost unrecognizable. A freighter of this size usually required a crew of at least three, but with the modifications made, it was easy enough to pilot alone. The only drawback is that there was no one to man the blasters at the top and bottom of the ship.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ver-Kera had once been a bounty hunter, a member of the guild herself before she became a wanted woman. He found himself admiring the work she had done on the ship and had she not had the bomb attached to her, he would have loved to have it for himself. He set the course and engaged the autopilot. He turned and left the cockpit, walking past the still sleeping woman and down the hall to the rest of the ship.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando stood at the end of the hall, studying the ship. In front of him was a circular room with ladders leading to both upper and lower guns. To his left was the boarding ramp to the ship and the entrance to carbo bay. On the wall to his right was a locked door, one that he still couldn't manage to get open. He walked down the hall to his right that curved through the round ship. On the outer wall were the doors he had managed to open earlier. One of them looked like a crew's quarters with nothing much in there but a bed. The other door led to the carbonite chamber. Across the hall was a fully stocked medbay with everything he could have wanted in there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Continuing down the hall he passed a sitting area next to the galley, the door to the refresher tucked away in the corner of the room. Past that was the escape pod, one of the two on the ship. The hall led back around to the other entrance to the cargo bay. Inside, crates lined the walls with supplies to last for months out at space. Ver-Kera must have had this ship stocked for emergencies if she were ever found. Again, he lamented the fact that he couldn't keep this ship.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>On one of the walls of the cargo bay was a cabinet locked up tight, a keypad on the wall next to it. He studied the device, and then pressed a button on his gauntlet. The sights of his helmet had changed, lighting up things that would have been invisible to the naked eye. He was able to view the fingerprints on the keypad, easily seeing exactly which five digits were used for the code. He knew what numbers there were, but not the order they were supposed to be typed. That was an easy enough workaround for him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Opening a compartment on his gauntlet, he pulled out a connector cable and plugged it into the bottom of the keypad that was used to reset it. He set the algorithm, and soon the small computer in his gauntlet was plugging in every possible combination using those five digits. He managed to make quick work of this and his gauntlet made a quiet beeping noise to indicate he had succeeded. He unplugged himself from the keypad and stepped back to let the doors of the cabinet open.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando felt a smirk tug at his lips under his helmet as he looked upon the wide array of weapons Ver-Kera had previously locked away. Taking one of the guns off of the wall where it was mounted, he studied it in his hands. These blasters seemed old and untouched for the most part, but he could tell that at one point that they had been well used. He placed it back into the cabinet and closed the doors. Now that he had the combination he could access it any time. He'd be taking those with him when he found himself a new ship.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He continued to make his way through the cargo hold, past the door to the airlock where he kept Ver-Kera locked earlier. At the other end of the cargo bay was the technical station that held the ship's computer. He sat down and began examining it thoroughly, trying to find the exact reason as to why the hyperdrive wasn't working. Without it, the trip down to the nearest planet would take about a day. He searched through the computer to find something, anything that would help him fix it, but nothing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando slammed his fist against the desk and sighed. He looked over to the outer wall of the cargo hold and stared at the doors to the engine room. He still couldn't manage to get those open either. It wasn't as if they were locked by some code, there was something else keeping those doors shut. If only he could get in there, he'd be able to figure out this for himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Mando..." A voice drifted down the hall to him. Ver-Kera was awake. He was honestly surprised, as he was sure she'd be asleep for at least another few hours. "Mando... Where did you go?" Her voice sounded low and drawn out, a slight slur in her speech. She was desperately trying to fight off sleep and it showed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He stood from the technical station and made his way back to her. He watched her from a distance as she used her feet to swing the chair back and forth, using the motion and movement to keep herself awake. Her head was lolled back, her hair dangling from the back of the chair. Swinging around, she glanced at him without lifting her head. Her eyes were half-closed and bloodshot.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You left me," She said slowly. "I was so lonely." Mando walked past her to the cockpit and seated himself so he could continue to navigate the ship. "Where are you going?" Her speech slurred again. She was out of it, almost drunk off of the tranquilizer he administered. He'd consider giving her more to put her back to sleep if he wasn't worried about accidentally stopping her heart. He'd just have to put up with her rambling for now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You know, Mando, this is really mean of you," Ver-Kera spoke again, her words were long and drawn out as she desperately clung to consciousness. "You kidnapped me, and stole my ship, and beat me up... You should really apologize..."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When she didn't get a response, she huffed. "I should really make you pay for this, you know. Once I get free, we get to see how you like being tied up..." Her words dropped off and she became quiet. Just as Mando was thinking she had fallen back to sleep, he heard a loud bang from behind him. Turning his chair around, Mando saw that Ver-Kera was lifting her legs up off the ground and bringing them down hard against the floor. She was trying to break the cuffs she had on her ankles to no avail.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Stop that," He ordered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Take these off and I'll stop," Ver-Kera said, her chin pressed against her chest as she looked down at her feet. Again she brought her legs up and sent them crashing down onto the floor. She hit hard enough to cause the metal cuffs to spark against the grated floor, but it did no damage to her restraints at all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando turned back towards the controls and sighed. This was going to be a </span>
  <em>
    <span>long </span>
  </em>
  <span>trip.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Twitter: KrisPS675<br/>Tumblr: River675</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Twitter: @KrisPS675<br/>Tumblr: River675</p></blockquote></div></div>
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